Partitioning of frequency resources for transmission of control signals and data signals in sc-fdma communication systems

ABSTRACT

A method for the partitioning frequency resources used in the transmission of control signals and data signals by user equipments in a communication system. The control signals and data signals are for periodic transmission and dynamic transmission. Also provided is an apparatus and method for user equipments to determine the first frequency unit available for the transmission of dynamic control signals, such as acknowledgement signals associated respective reception of data signals configured through a scheduling assignment by a serving Node B. The utilization of the operating bandwidth is maximized by avoiding fragmentation and facilitates the achievement of reception reliability targets particularly for control signals.

PRIORITY

The present application for patent claims priority to U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 60/934,066 entitled “Transmission of Control Signals inSC-FDMA Communication Systems” filed Jun. 11, 2007 and to U.S.Provisional Application No. 60/976,959 entitled “Support ofRe-Transmissions for Persistent Scheduling in SC-FDMA CommunicationSystems” filed Oct. 2, 2007, the contents of both of which are herebyincorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention is directed, in general, to wireless communicationsystems and, more specifically, to a Single-Carrier Frequency DivisionMultiple Access (SC-FDMA) communication system and is further consideredin the development of the 3^(rd) Generation Partnership Project (3GPP)Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) long term evolution(LTE).

2. Description of the Art

In particular, the present invention considers partitioning resourcesallocated to the transmissions of control signals and data signals in aSC-FDMA communication system. The invention assumes the UpLink (UL)communication corresponding to signal transmissions from mobile UserEquipments (UEs) to a serving base station (or Node B). A UE, alsocommonly referred to as terminal or mobile station, may be fixed ormobile and may be a wireless device, a cellular phone, a personalcomputer device, a wireless modem card, etc. A Node B is generally afixed station and may also be called a Base Transceiver System (BTS), anaccess point, or some other terminology.

Several types of signals need to be supported for the properfunctionality of the communication system. In addition to data signals,which convey the information content of the communication, controlsignals also need to be transmitted from the UEs to their serving Node Bin the UL and from the serving Node B to the UEs in the DownLink (DL) inorder to enable the proper transmission of data signals. The DL refersto the communication from the Node B to UEs. These control signals aresubsequently described in detail with the focus being on the UL.

The UEs are assumed to transmit data signals (or data packets) throughthe Physical Uplink Shared CHannel (PUSCH). The PUSCH can be sharedduring the same time period by multiple UEs with each UE using adifferent part of the operating BandWidth (BW), as illustrated in FIG.1, in order to avoid mutual interference (Frequency Domain Multiplexing(FDM)). UE1 110 transmits over BW 120 while UE2 130, UE3 150, and UE4170, transmit over BW 140, BW 160, and BW 180, respectively. Anexception is the use of Spatial Division Multiple Access (SDMA) methods,where multiple UEs may share the same RBs over the same sub-frame fortheir PUSCH data packet transmissions.

The Node B is assumed to transmit data signals (or data packets) to UEsthrough the Physical Downlink Shared CHannel (PDSCH). Similarly to thePUSCH, the PDSCH can be shared during the same time period by multipleUEs through FDM.

PUSCH and PDSCH transmissions can be scheduled by the Node B through aUL or a DL scheduling assignment, respectively, using the PhysicalDownlink Control CHannel (PDCCH) or they can be preconfigured to occurperiodically (persistent scheduling of PUSCH or PDSCH transmissions).Using the PDCCH, a data signal transmission in the PUSCH or the PDSCHmay generally occur at any sub-frame decided by the Node B scheduler.Accordingly, the scheduling of such transmissions is referred to asdynamic.

To avoid excessive PDCCH overhead, some PUSCH and PDSCH transmissionsmay be configured to occur periodically at predetermined parts of theoperating bandwidth. Such scheduling is referred to as persistent. FIG.2 illustrates the concept of persistent scheduling where an initialpacket transmission 210 occurs periodically every assignment interval220. Persistent scheduling is typically used for communication serviceshaving relatively small bandwidth requirements per transmission periodbut need to be provided for many UEs making dynamic scheduling throughthe PDCCH inefficient due to the associated overhead introduced in theDL of the communication system. One typical example of such services isVoice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).

In response to the PUSCH and PDSCH transmissions, positive or negativeacknowledgement signals, ACK or NAK respectively, are assumed to betransmitted to or from the UEs, respectively. As the invention considersthe UL of the communication system, the focus will be on the ACK/NAKsignals transmitted by UEs in response to a PDSCH transmission. ACK/NAKsignaling is required for use of Hybrid-Automatic Repeat reQuest (HARQ),where a data packet is retransmitted upon the reception of a NAK and anew data packet it transmitted upon the reception of an ACK.

Because the PDSCH scheduling of a UE in the DL can be dynamic orpersistent, the transmission of ACK/NAK signals from the UE iscorrespondingly dynamic or persistent. In the latter case, similarly tothe PDSCH transmission, the ACK/NAK transmission from the UE isperiodic.

In addition to periodic and dynamic transmission of ACK/NAK signals,other control signals may be periodically transmitted by UEs. Oneexample of such a control signal is the Channel Quality Indication(CQI). The CQI is assumed to be sent periodically to inform the servingNode B of the channel conditions, which can be represented by theSignal-to-Noise and Interference Ratio (SINR) the UE experiences in theDL. Additional periodic transmissions of control signals other than CQIor ACK/NAK may also exist.

Therefore, the UL of the communication system is assumed to supportdynamic and persistent PUSCH transmissions, ACK/NAK transmissions due todynamic and persistent PDSCH transmissions, CQI transmissions, andpossibly other control signaling. The transmissions of CQI, persistentPUSCH, and ACK/NAK due to persistent PDSCH are assumed to be periodicuntil deactivated by the serving Node B or until the correspondingconfigured transmission period expires. The ACK/NAK and CQI signals willbe jointly referred to as the Physical Uplink Control CHannel (PUCCH).Other control signals may also be periodically transmitted in the PUCCH.

The PUSCH transmissions are assumed to occur over a Transmission TimeInterval (TTI) corresponding to a sub-frame. FIG. 3 illustrates a blockdiagram of the sub-frame structure 310 assumed in the exemplaryembodiment of the disclosed invention. The sub-frame includes of twoslots. Each slot 320 further includes seven symbols and each symbol 330further includes a Cyclic Prefix (CP) for mitigating interference due tochannel propagation effects. The signal transmission in the two slotsmay or may not be in the same part of the operating bandwidth.

In an exemplary sub-frame structure of FIG. 3, the middle symbol in eachslot carries the transmission of Reference Signals (RS) 340, also knownas pilot signals, which are used for several purposes including forproviding channel estimation to allow coherent demodulation of thereceived signal. The number of symbols with RS transmission in the ULsub-frame may be different among the PUSCH, the PUCCH with ACK/NAKtransmission, and the PUCCH with CQI transmission. For example, themiddle three symbols in each slot may be used for RS transmission incase of ACK/NAK PUCCH transmissions (the remaining symbols are used forACK/NAK transmission) while the second and sixth symbols in each slotmay be used for RS transmission in case of CQI PUCCH transmissions (theremaining symbols are used for CQI transmission). This is alsoillustrated in FIG. 9, FIG. 10, and FIG. 11, which will be describedlater herein.

The transmission bandwidth is assumed to comprise of frequency resourceunits, which will be referred to as Resource Blocks (RBs). The exemplaryembodiment assumes that each RB includes 12 SC-FDMA sub-carriers and UEsare assumed to be allocated a multiple N of consecutive RBs 350 forPUSCH transmission and 1 RB for PUCCH transmission. Nevertheless, theabove values are only illustrative and not restrictive to the invention.

Although not material to the disclosed invention, an exemplary blockdiagram of the transmitter structure for the PUSCH is illustrated inFIG. 4. If a UE has both data and control (ACK/NAK, CQI, etc.) bits totransmit in the same PUSCH sub-frame, then, in order to transmit theACK/NAK, certain data bits (such as, for example, the parity bits in thecase of turbo coding) may be punctured and replaced by the ACK/NAK bits.Simultaneous PUSCH and PUCCH transmission by a UE is thus avoided andthe single-carrier property is preserved. Coded CQI bits 405 (if theyexist) and coded data bits 410 are multiplexed 420. If ACK/NAK bits alsoneed to be transmitted in the PUSCH, data bits (or possibly CQI bits)are punctured to accommodate ACK/NAK bits 430. The Discrete FourierTransform (DFT) of the combined data bits and control bits is thenobtained 440, the sub-carriers 450 corresponding to the assignedtransmission bandwidth are selected 455, the Inverse Fast FourierTransform (IFFT) is performed 460 and finally the Cyclic Prefix (CP) 470and filtering 480 are applied to the transmitted signal 490.

Zero padding is assumed to be inserted by a reference UE in sub-carriersused by another UE and in guard sub-carriers (not shown). Moreover, forbrevity, additional transmitter circuitry such as digital-to-analogconverter, analog filters, amplifiers, and transmitter antennas as theyare known in the art, are not illustrated in FIG. 4. Similarly, theencoding process for the data bits and the CQI bits as well as themodulation process for all transmitted bits are well known in the artand are omitted for brevity.

At the receiver, the inverse (complementary) transmitter functions areperformed. This is conceptually illustrated in FIG. 5 where the reverseoperations of those in FIG. 4 apply. As it is known in the art (notshown for brevity), an antenna receives the Radio-Frequency (RF) analogsignal and after further processing units (such as filters, amplifiers,frequency down-converters, and analog-to-digital converters) the digitalreceived signal 510 passes through a time windowing unit 520 and the CPis removed 530. Subsequently, the receiver unit applies an FFT 540,selects 545 the sub-carriers 550 used by the transmitter, applies anInverse DFT (IDFT) 560, extracts the ACK/NAK bits and places respectiveerasures for the data bits 570, and de-multiplexes 580 the CQI bits 590and data bits 595. As for the transmitter, well known in the artreceiver functionalities such as channel estimation, demodulation, anddecoding are not shown for brevity and they are not material to theinvention.

Also without being material to the disclosed invention, a block diagramof the PUCCH (ACK/NAK, CQI) transmission structure is illustrated inFIG. 6. The transmission is assumed to be through the modulation ofConstant Amplitude Zero Autocorrelation (CAZAC)-based sequences 610.Similarly, the RS transmission is assumed to be through non-modulatedCAZAC-based sequences 610. The sub-carriers corresponding to theassigned transmission bandwidth are selected 620 and the sequenceelements are mapped on the selected PUCCH sub-carriers 630. The InverseFast Fourier Transform (IFFT) is performed 640, the output is thencyclically shifted in the time domain 650, and finally the Cyclic Prefix(CP) 660 and filtering 670 are applied to the transmitted signal 680.With respect to the PUSCH transmitter structure in FIG. 4, the maindifference is the absence of a DFT block (because, although notrequired, the CAZAC-based sequence is assumed to be directly mapped inthe frequency domain to avoid the DFT operation) and the application ofthe cyclic shift 650. In addition, Walsh covering may apply to theACK/NAK, RS, and possibly the CQI signals across the correspondingsymbols in the sub-frame (FIG. 3).

The reverse functions are performed for the reception of the CAZAC-basedsequence as illustrated in FIG. 7. The received signal 710 passesthrough a time windowing unit 720 and the CP is removed 730.Subsequently, the cyclic shift is restored 740, an FFT 750 is applied,the sub-carriers 760 used by the transmitter are selected 765,correlation with the replica 770 of the CAZAC-based sequence is applied780 and the output 790 is obtained. The output can be passed to achannel estimation unit, such as a time-frequency interpolator, in caseof an RS, or can be used for detecting the transmitted information, incase the CAZAC-based sequence is modulated by ACK/NAK or CQI informationbits.

An example of CAZAC-based sequences is given by the following Equation(1):

$\begin{matrix}{{c_{k}(n)} = {{\exp \left\lbrack {\frac{j\; 2\; \pi \; k}{L}\left( {n + {n\frac{n + 1}{2}}} \right)} \right\rbrack}.}} & (1)\end{matrix}$

In Equation (1), L is the length of the CAZAC sequence, n is the indexof a particular element of the sequence n=(0, 1, 2 . . . , L−1), andfinally, k is the index of the sequence itself. For a given length L,there are L−1 distinct sequences, provided that L is prime. Therefore,the entire family of sequences is defined as k ranges in {1, 2 . . . ,L−1}. However, the CAZAC sequences used for PUCCH signaling need not begenerated using the exact above expression as it is further discussedbelow.

For CAZAC sequences of prime length L, the number of sequences is L−1.As the RBs are assumed to include an even number of sub-carriers, with 1RB includes 12 sub-carriers, the sequences used to transmit the ACK/NAKand RS can be generated, in the frequency or time domain, by eithertruncating a longer prime length (such as length 13) CAZAC sequence orby extending a shorter prime length (such as length 11) CAZAC sequenceby repeating its first element(s) at the end (cyclic extension),although the resulting sequences do not fulfill the definition of aCAZAC sequence. Alternatively, CAZAC sequences can be generated througha computer search for sequences satisfying the CAZAC properties.

Different cyclic shifts of the same CAZAC sequence provide orthogonalCAZAC sequences. Therefore, different cyclic shifts of the same CAZACsequence can be allocated to different UEs in the same RB for their RS,ACK/NAK, or CQI transmission and achieve orthogonal UE multiplexing.This principle is illustrated in FIG. 8.

In order for the multiple CAZAC sequences 810, 830, 850, 870 generatedcorrespondingly from multiple cyclic shifts 820, 840, 860, 880 of thesame root CAZAC sequence to be orthogonal, the cyclic shift value Δ890should exceed the channel propagation delay spread D (including a timeuncertainty error and filter spillover effects). If T_(s) is theduration of one symbol, the number of cyclic shifts is equal to themathematical floor of the ratio T_(s)/D. The cyclic shift granularityequals an element of the CAZAC sequence. For a CAZAC sequence of length12, the number of possible cyclic shifts is 12 and for symbol durationof about 66 microseconds (14 symbols in a 1 millisecond sub-frame), thetime separation of consecutive cyclic shifts is about 5.5 microseconds.

The CQI transmission parameters, such as the transmission RB and thetransmission sub-frame, are configured for each UE through higher layersignaling and remain valid over time periods much longer than asub-frame. Similarly, the ACK/NAK transmission parameters due topersistent PDSCH scheduling and the persistent PUSCH transmissionparameters (such as the RB and sub-frame) also remain the same overcomparable time periods.

A consequence of SC-FDMA signaling is that the transmission bandwidth ofa signal needs to be contiguous. In order to avoid bandwidthfragmentation for PUSCH transmissions, the PUCCH transmissions need tobe placed towards the two ends of the operating bandwidth. Otherwise, ifthere are RBs available on each side of the PUCCH transmissionbandwidth, they cannot be used for PUSCH transmission by the same UEwhile preserving the single carrier property of the transmission.

Moreover, as PUCCH transmission includes periodic CQI transmissions,periodic ACK/NAK transmissions, and dynamic ACK/NAK transmissions, anappropriate ordering for the corresponding RBs at the two ends of theoperating bandwidth needs to be determined.

In addition to PUCCH transmission, persistent scheduling of PUSCHtransmissions also results in similar bandwidth occupancycharacteristics as the PUCCH.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention has been designed to solve theabove-mentioned problems occurring in the prior art, and the presentinvention provides an apparatus and method for allocating frequencyresources for the transmission of control signals and data signals fromuser equipments to their serving Node B.

Additionally, the present invention determines the partitioning of RBsallocated to PUCCH transmissions among the RBs used for CQItransmissions, periodic ACK/NAK transmissions due to persistent PDSCHscheduling, and dynamic ACK/NAK transmissions due to dynamic PDSCHscheduling.

Additionally, the present invention maximizes the bandwidth utilizationfor PUSCH transmissions while accommodating the PUCCH transmissions.

Additionally, the present invention incorporates persistent PUSCHtransmissions while avoiding bandwidth fragmentation.

Additionally, the present invention facilitates the achievement of thereception reliability requirements, particularly for control signals.

Additionally, the present invention informs the UEs of the first RB thatis available for dynamic ACK/NAK transmissions.

In accordance with an embodiment the present invention, there isprovided a method for the allocation of frequency units (resource blocks(RBs)), used by control signals having a periodic transmission, bycontrol signals having dynamic transmission, and by data signals.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, there isprovided a method for the allocation of frequency units used by controlsignals having a periodic transmission, by control signals havingdynamic transmission, by data signals having periodic transmission, andby data signals having dynamic transmission.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention there isprovided an apparatus and method for a user equipment, havingtransmission of an acknowledgement signal in response to a data signaltransmitted to it by the serving Node B using a respective schedulingassignment, to determine the first frequency unit available for thetransmission of the acknowledgement signal.

In accordance with another embodiment of the invention, there isprovided an apparatus and method for a serving Node B to inform userequipments having transmission of acknowledgement signals, in responseto respective data signals transmitted by the serving Node B usingrespective scheduling assignments, of the first frequency unit availablefor the transmission of the acknowledgement signals.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of the presentinvention will be more apparent from the following detailed descriptiontaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a partitioning of an operatingbandwidth for an orthogonal transmission of signals from multiple UEsthrough frequency division multiplexing;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the concept of persistent (periodic)data signal transmission from a UE;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary sub-frame structurefor the SC-FDMA communication system;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrative of a first exemplary SC-FDMAtransmitter for multiplexing data bits, CQI bits, and ACK/NAK bits in atransmission sub-frame;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrative of an exemplary SC-FDMA receiverfor de-multiplexing data bits, CQI bits, and ACK/NAK bits in a receptionsub-frame;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary transmitter for aCAZAC-based sequence in a frequency domain;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary receiver for aCAZAC-based sequence in a frequency domain;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary construction oforthogonal CAZAC-based sequences through the application of differentcyclic shifts on a root CAZAC-based sequence;

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary partitioning of resourceblocks for CQI, ACK/NAK, and data signal transmissions;

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a first exemplary partitioning ofresource blocks for CQI, persistent and dynamic ACK/NAK, and persistentand dynamic data signal transmissions; and

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a second exemplary partitioning ofresource blocks for CQI, persistent and dynamic ACK/NAK, and persistentand dynamic data signal transmissions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings. This invention may, however, beembodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limitedto the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments areprovided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and willfully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.

Additionally, although the present invention assumes a Single-CarrierFrequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) communication system, italso applies to all FDM systems in general and to OFDMA, OFDM, FDMA,DFT-spread OFDM, DFT-spread OFDMA, Single-Carrier OFDMA (SC-OFDMA), andsingle-carrier OFDM in particular.

System and methods of the embodiments of the invention solve problemsrelated to the need for maximizing the utilization of the availablebandwidth for the transmission of signals from user equipments to aserving Node B, for facilitating the achievement of desired transmissionreliability targets, and for informing the UEs with transmission ofacknowledgement signals of the first frequency unit (or resource block(RB)) available for the transmission of these signals.

As discussed in the foregoing background, several signals in the UL havea periodic nature and the corresponding allocation of resource blocks(RBs), or frequency units, per sub-frame can be predetermined overrelatively long time periods compared to the sub-frame duration. Thesesignals include the CQI, the ACK/NAK associated with persistent PDSCHtransmissions, and the persistent PUSCH. As it will be subsequentlyexplained in detail, for several reasons, including avoiding bandwidthfragmentation while supporting single carrier transmission, it isdesirable to place these signals towards the two edges (ends) of theoperating bandwidth.

In addition to dynamically scheduled PUSCH transmissions, other signalsthat may require a variable number of RBs per sub-frame include theACK/NAK for dynamic PDSCH transmissions (dynamic ACK/NAK). The RBs fordynamic ACK/NAK transmissions should therefore be placed next to theones for dynamic PUSCH transmissions, start after the last RB allocatedto periodic PUCCH and PUSCH transmissions, and be placed towards theinterior of the operating BandWidth (BW).

The partitioning of periodic PUCCH transmissions, such as the CQIsignaling, and dynamic PUCCH ACK/NAK transmissions is first consideredin the exemplary setup illustrated in FIG. 9. The CQI transmission froma UE is assumed to take place at the opposite ends of the operating BWin the first slot 910A and the second slot 910B. According to theinvention, the RBs used for dynamic ACK/NAK transmission from another,different, UE in the first slot 920A and the second slot 920B are placedto the interior of the ones used for the CQI transmission and areadjacent to and to the exterior of the RBs used for dynamic PUSCHtransmission in the first slot 930A and second slot 930B of thesub-frame.

As the number of UEs having dynamic PDSCH transmissions in a sub-framemay vary, the number of RBs used by the corresponding dynamic ACK/NAKtransmissions in the PUCCH may also vary per sub-frame (although onlyone RB is illustrated in FIG. 9 for dynamic ACK/NAK transmissions). Suchvariations cannot be expected in advance as the Node B scheduler isassumed to operate without constraints on the number of assigned dynamicPDSCH transmissions per sub-frame.

As each UE with dynamic ACK/NAK transmission is assumed to know themultiplexing capacity in one RB (this parameter can be broadcasted bythe serving Node B) and its relative position with respect to ACK/NAKtransmissions from other UEs (either through explicit signaling by theserving Node B or implicitly, such as for example through the index ofthe PDCCH used for the scheduling assignment), it can know which RB andwhich resource within the RB (such as which cyclic shift of aCAZAC-based sequence) to use. For example, if the ACK/NAK multiplexingcapacity is 18 and the relative order of a UE for ACK/NAK transmissionis 20, that UE uses for its ACK/NAK transmission the second resource inthe second RB used for dynamic ACK/NAK transmissions. In general, if theACK/NAK multiplexing capacity in an RB is M and the relative order of aUE with dynamic ACK/NAK transmission is P, the UE may use the resource:

mod(P,M),

within the RB number of

Q=ceil(P/M),

where mod(x, y) is x minus (n times y) where n equals to floor(x dividedby y). The “floor” operation rounds a number to its immediately smallerinteger while the “ceil” operation rounds a number to its immediatelylarger integer.

Placing the RBs for dynamic ACK/NAK transmissions towards the interiorof the operating bandwidth after the ones used for periodic PUCCHtransmissions (such as the CQI ones) for which the number of RBs persub-frame are fixed over long time periods, and adjacent and to theexterior of the RBs used for dynamic PUSCH transmissions, avoidsbandwidth fragmentation or bandwidth waste due to unused RBs. Otherwise,if the RBs for dynamic ACK/NAK transmissions were placed before the onesfor periodic PUCCH transmissions and towards the exterior of theoperating bandwidth, bandwidth fragmentation would occur when the numberof RBs for dynamic ACK/NAK transmissions varied between sub-frames.

Instead, with the RB partitioning between periodic and dynamic PUCCHtransmissions as illustrated in FIG. 9, any variation in the number ofRBs used for dynamic ACK/NAK transmissions can be seamlessly absorbed inthe scheduling of dynamic PUSCH transmissions in the remaining RBswithout resulting to any wasted RBs or causing bandwidth fragmentationas the former RBs can simply be viewed as an extension of the latter andthe reverse. The serving Node B knows how many RBs will be required inevery sub-frame for dynamic ACK/NAK transmissions and can thereforeaccordingly allocate the RBs for PUSCH transmissions without incurringbandwidth fragmentation.

Another reason for having the RBs for the dynamic ACK/NAK transmissionsin the interior of the ones allocated to periodic PUCCH transmissions isthat the former RBs can become available for PUSCH transmission after acertain number of UL sub-frames. This happens when the DL sub-framescarry multicast-broadcast traffic because there is no ACK/NAKtransmission in corresponding subsequent UL sub-frames (no unicast PDSCHtransmissions requiring ACK/NAK feedback are assumed to occur duringmulticast-broadcast DL sub-frames). This may not be possible, due to thesingle carrier property, if the RBs for ACK/NAK transmission are notadjacent to the ones for PUSCH transmission.

Yet another reason for having the dynamic ACK/NAK RBs in the interiorpart of the operating bandwidth used for dynamic ACK/NAK and periodicPUCCH transmissions is that the former typically need to be morereliable than the latter. Transmissions in interior RBs largely avoidout-of-band interference created by transmissions in adjacentbandwidths, which may be at a substantially larger power, and thereforeACK/NAK signals are better protected against such interference if theyare placed in interior RBs.

A generalization of the RB allocation of FIG. 9 is presented in FIG. 10where in addition to the RBs for CQI, dynamic ACK/NAK, and dynamic PUSCHtransmissions, the RBs for persistent ACK/NAK and persistent PUSCHtransmissions are also included. The order of the periodic transmissionscan be interchanged or mixed. Such an alternative order for the periodictransmissions is illustrated in FIG. 11.

The RBs for persistent ACK/NAK transmissions 1010A and 1010B or the RBsfor persistent PUSCH transmissions 1020A and 1020B are located to theexterior of RBs for dynamic ACK/NAK transmissions 1030A and 1030B whichare again placed adjacent and to the exterior of the RBs for dynamicPUSCH transmissions 1040A and 1040B because they are the only ones thatmay vary between sub-frames in a way that cannot be predetermined. Whilethe RBs for the periodic PUCCH and persistent PUSCH transmissions mayalso vary between sub-frames, this happens in a predetermined manner.

Moreover, although in FIG. 10 the RBs for ACK/NAK transmission due topersistent PDSCH scheduling are located in both slots to the interior ofthe RBs for CQI transmission, this is not necessary and the latter canbe located to the interior of the former in one of the two slots.Additionally, the transmission for any of these signals may be confinedin only one slot or extend past one sub-frame.

FIG. 11 illustrates the same principle as FIG. 10 with the onlydifference being the relative placement of persistent PUSCH 1110A and1110B and CQI transmissions 1120A and 1120B. As CQI transmissionstypically require better reception reliability than persistent PUSCHtransmissions as the latter benefit from the use of HARQ, avoiding theCQI placement in RBs at the edge of the operating bandwidth protects theCQI signal from potential out-of-band interference and can thereforeimprove its reception reliability.

In both FIG. 10 and FIG. 11, the RBs for persistent ACK/NAKtransmissions are located to the exterior of the RBs for dynamic ACK/NAKtransmissions and to the interior of the RBs for CQI transmissions orpersistent PUSCH transmissions. In this manner, if there is no PDSCHscheduling in a previous DL sub-frame, such as when that sub-frameconveys multicast-broadcast communication traffic, no ACK/NAKtransmission occurs in a corresponding subsequent UL sub-frame and theRBs that would otherwise be used for ACK/NAK transmissions by UEs can beused for PUSCH transmissions.

Having a fixed number of RBs per sub-frame for all periodictransmissions (CQI, ACK/NAK due to persistent PDSCH scheduling,persistent PUSCH scheduling), and placing the ACK/NAK RBs due to dynamicPDSCH scheduling between the ones for periodic transmissions and theones for dynamic PUSCH transmissions, the RBs available for dynamicPUSCH transmissions are contiguous and well defined. This fixed numberof RBs per sub-frame for the periodic transmissions can be communicatedto the UEs through a broadcast channel. This information is used as anindex by the UEs to determine the RBs for dynamic ACK/NAK transmissions(first RB) if these RBs do not start from the edges of the operatingbandwidth. Knowing the fixed number of RBs per sub-frame used forperiodic transmissions, a UE can apply an offset equal to the number ofthese RBs (equal to the index) in order to determine the first availableRB for ACK/NAK transmission due to dynamic PDSCH scheduling.

Using FIG. 10 as an example, the serving Node B broadcasts the totalnumber of RBs used for all periodic transmissions (such as CQI,persistent PUSCH scheduling, ACK/NAK due to persistent PDSCH scheduling)and this value serves as an index for a UE to determine the first RBavailable for ACK/NAK transmission due to dynamic PDSCH scheduling byapplying a respective offset, equal to that index, relative to the firstRB at either end of the operating bandwidth.

While the present invention has been shown and described with referenceto certain exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention as defined by the appended claims.

1. A method for allocating frequency resources for transmission ofcontrol signals and data signals from user equipments to a Node B overan operating bandwidth in a communication system, the control signalsincluding first type control signals and second type control signals,the first type control signals having periodic transmission, wherein afirst set of user equipments use first frequency resources fortransmission of the first type control signals, a second set of userequipments use second frequency resources for transmission of the secondtype control signals, a third set of user equipments use third frequencyresources for transmission of the data signals, the method comprising:placing the second frequency resources between the first frequencyresources and the third frequency resources on each side of theoperating bandwidth; and placing the third frequency resources betweenthe second frequency resources.
 2. The method as in claim 1, wherein thefirst type control signals are channel quality indication signals. 3.The method as in claim 1, wherein the second type control signals areacknowledgement signals being transmitted in response to the datasignals from the Node B to the second set of user equipments.
 4. Themethod as in claim 1, wherein the transmission of the data signals isassociated with a scheduling assignment transmitted from the Node B toeach of the user equipments in the third set of user equipments.
 5. Themethod as in claim 1, wherein the communication system is asingle-carrier frequency domain multiple access communication system. 6.A method for determining, at a user equipment, frequency resources in anoperating bandwidth for transmission of an acknowledgement signal to aNode B in a communication system, the operating bandwidth including aplurality of Resource Blocks (RBs), the acknowledgement signal being inresponse to a data signal transmission from the Node B to the userequipment, the method comprising: receiving at least one index from NodeB, the index corresponding to a number of the RBs; and determining afirst RB of the frequency resources for transmission of theacknowledgement signal using the received index.
 7. The method as inclaim 6, further comprising: transmitting the data signal in response toa scheduling assignment transmitted from the Node B to the userequipment.
 8. The method as in claim 6, wherein the communication systemis a single-carrier frequency domain multiple access communicationsystem.
 9. The method as in claim 6, wherein the Resource Block includesa plurality of consecutive frequency sub-carriers.
 10. A method forallocating frequency resources for transmitting control signals and datasignals from user equipments to a Node B over an operating bandwidth ina communication system, the control signals including first type controlsignals and second type control signals, the first type control signalshaving periodic transmission, the data signals including first type datasignals and second type data signals, the first type data signals havingperiodic transmission, wherein a first set of user equipments use firstfrequency resources for transmission of the first type control signals,a second set of user equipments use second frequency resources fortransmission of the second type control signals, a third set of userequipments use third frequency resources for transmission of the firsttype data signals, a fourth set of user equipments use fourth frequencyresources for transmission of the second type data signals, the methodcomprising: placing the second frequency resources between the firstfrequency resources and the fourth frequency resources on each side ofthe operating bandwidth; placing the second frequency resources betweenthe third frequency resources and the fourth frequency resources on eachside of the operating bandwidth; and placing the fourth frequencyresources between the second frequency resources on the operatingbandwidth.
 11. The method as in claim 10, wherein the first type controlsignals are channel quality indication signals.
 12. The method as inclaim 10, wherein the second type control signals are acknowledgementsignals in response to the transmission of data signals from the Node Bto the second set of user equipments.
 13. The method as in claim 10,wherein the transmission for each of the second type data signals is inresponse to corresponding scheduling assignments from the Node B to thefourth set of user equipments.
 14. The method as in claim 10, whereinthe communication system is a single-carrier frequency domain multipleaccess communication system.
 15. The method as in claim 10, furthercomprising: placing the first frequency resources between the thirdfrequency resources and the second frequency resources on each side ofthe operating bandwidth.
 16. The method as in claim 10, furthercomprising: placing the third frequency resources at a start of each endof the operating bandwidth.
 17. An apparatus for transmitting anacknowledgement signal in a communication system, the acknowledgementsignal being transmitted from a user equipment over an operatingbandwidth in response to a reception of a data signal transmitted by aNode B, the operating bandwidth including Resource Blocks (RBs), theapparatus comprising: a receiver for receiving a broadcast signaltransmitted by the Node B, the received broadcast signal indicating atleast a number of the RBs in the operating bandwidth; and a transmitterfor transmitting the acknowledgement signal, wherein a first availableRB for transmitting the acknowledgement signal is determined from atleast one end of the operating bandwidth by the number of the RBs. 18.The apparatus as in claim 17, wherein the data signal transmission is inresponse to a scheduling assignment transmitted from the Node B to theuser equipment.
 19. The apparatus as in claim 17, wherein thecommunication system comprises a single-carrier frequency domainmultiple access communication system.
 20. A method for informing userequipments transmitting respective acknowledgement signals in acommunication system, the acknowledgement signals being transmitted inresponse to respective reception of data signals transmitted by a Node Bover an operating bandwidth, the method comprising: transmitting anumber of Resource Blocks (RBs) per sub-frame for periodic transmissionsthrough a broadcast channel.
 21. The method as in claim 20, wherein thedata signal transmissions are in response to respective schedulingassignments transmitted from the Node B to the user equipments.
 22. Themethod as in claim 20, wherein the communication system comprises asingle-carrier frequency domain multiple access communication system.23. The method as in claim 20, further comprising: determining a firstavailable RB for dynamic transmissions.
 24. A method for allocatingfrequency resources for transmission of control signals and data signalsfrom user equipments to a Node B over a certain range of an operatingbandwidth in a communication system, the control signals including firstcontrol signals and second control signals, at least the first controlsignals having periodic transmission, wherein a first set of users usefirst frequency resources for transmission of the first control signals,a second set of users use second frequency resources for transmission ofthe second control signals, a third set of users use third frequencyresources for transmission of the data signals, the method comprising:placing separated second frequency resources before and after entirethird frequency resources within the operating bandwidth; and placingseparated first frequency resources before and after the separatedsecond frequency resources within the operating bandwidth.